By Rachel Leingang | Arizona Capitol Times
The battle between utilities and solar companies over net metering ended in a ceasefire this year, with both sides agreeing to sit down with a mediator and try to hammer out a compromise instead of fighting it out on the ballot.
There’s a lot of history for both sides to overcome – years of attacks in the media and skirmishes at the Arizona Corporation Commission – before they can arrive at some sort of consensus.
And the two sides still have a major gulf in their views on solar and how it should be addressed in ratemaking. Solar companies such as SolarCity believe solar provides a net benefit to the electrical grid. Utilities like Arizona Public Service say solar customers aren’t paying their fair share to maintain the grid and that shifts costs to non-solar customers.
